Our Life in Canada

The biggest question we get about life in Canada is about our healthcare. Each province and territory has its own healthcare system that only covers the residences of that province or territory. Out-of-province medical care is dealt with on a case by case basis. For us, Ontario's healthcare coverage has not been different from the health insurance we had in Maryland. Yes, we need referals to see specialists and here a pediatrician is considered a specialist. Yes, sometimes we have to wait a few days for an appointment. Yes, some ways of doing things are different, like how soon a newborn boy is circumcised or recieving numerous X-rays and doctor consultation when your son injures himself by showing just his OHIP card (Ontario Health Insurance Program). Yes, there are some things that aren't covered by OHIP. For these uncovered costs, we use The Weather Network's employee health insurance plan. By our estimation we are also paying the same amount - it just comes out of the paycheck before we get it rather than paying co-pays.

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Something that IS very different for us here is how we buy our milk.

This is how it comes!

There are three smaller bags inside each bag. To use the milk we empty one into a pitcher.

And 1% costs $3.99 a gallon and whole is $4.99.

Related to milk, the candy "Smarties" here are not the same as in the U.S. Here what we would call Smarties are called Rockets, and Smarties are a chocolate candy that are similar to M&Ms but a little larger and their candy shell will melt in your hand.

On a note unrelated to Canada, we seem to have a little lefty!